Play in every session of every day of all four Tests has left both teams drained of energy with the Oval only days away
Early on the fifth day here Ben Stokes ran in to bowl at Shubman Gill, letting out a short moan of effort and pain as the ball left his hand. It climbed off the pitch and smashed into Gill’s right glove, sending the batter scuttling away in agony.
It was the second time he had been hit on that hand; on Thursday Jofra Archer was the bowler, and when Gill ripped off the glove to assess the damage he revealed a thumb clad in skin‑toned protective strapping. This time when the glove came off his thumb was fully bandaged, but it was the forefinger that had taken the hit.
Stokes returned to his mark, right arm hanging limp by his side, left hand massaging gingerly a spot just beneath his shoulder which had been bothering him since, at the very latest, he performed his warmup exercises before play. This towards the end of a game in which he has struggled with a cramping calf and an apparent issue on the back of his right thigh.
For eight increasingly agonised overs he protected his right arm from any use except that necessary to fling the ball at an opposition batter at the greatest possible speed. At the end of a spell that despite everything was outstanding, and during which KL Rahul was dismissed, several teammates approached and held their hands out for a congratulatory tap. Those who came to his right were met by his left hand, reaching awkwardly across his body. By this stage that right arm was good for nothing.
